Piero de Medici

Piero "the Unfortunate" de Medici (15 February 1472-28 December 1503) was the Lord of Florence from 1492 to 1494, succeeding Lorenzo de Medici and preceding Girolamo Savonarola. He was the last Medici ruler of Florence until 1512, having been deposed by the fanatical monk Savonarola.

Biogrpahy
Piero de Medici was born in Florence, Tuscany on 15 February 1472, the son of Lorenzo de Medici and Clarice Orsini. His younger brother would go on to become Pope Leo X, and his cousin would become Pope Clement VII. The feeble, arrogant, and undisciplined Piero succeeded his father as lord of Florence on his death in 1492, and he attempted to remain neutral during the Italian Wars, leading to King Charles VIII of France invading Tuscany in 1494. Piero received little support during his attempt to resist the French invasion, and he was forced to agree to all of Charles' terms of surrender. His failure to negotiate better terms forced the House of Medici to flee Florence as Girolamo Savonarola seized power, and it was not until 1512 that the Medici would be restored to power there. Medici became a vassal of the Kingdom of France after the Italian War of 1494-98, and he drowned at the Battle of Garigliano in 1503.